With all the media attention given to Michael Jackson's death, you might have overlooked the significance of the death of another celebrity and media pioneer -- Ed McMahon, who passed away on June 23.

You might know him for his trademark "Heeeeere's Johnny," or as the host of the syndicated TV show "Star Search" or as the guy who handed the winning checks to the million-dollar winners of the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. But he also understood media, and he had a clear vision of what would happen with the Internet.

The first time I spoke with Ed McMahon in the mid-'90s, he was talking about convergence. He was sure that broadcast TV and the World Wide Web would converge to offer a wealth of video and entertainment options to audiences that at that time were barely connected to the Internet by dial-up connections, let alone having enough bandwidth to download videos in real time. As others in Hollywood hesitated, he was positive.

By the time I met him a couple of years later at Paramount Studio in Hollywood, we had formed a friendship, and he had launched his Internet company, Next Big Star. Picture this: Contestants from all over would show off their talents via video; and viewers would vote. Winners would proceed to additional rounds until in a head-to-head battle, one is crowned champion. On the surface, it sounds like combining the best features of "American Idol," with the top video Web site, YouTube. But this was years before either one had hit the scene.

In Mr. McMahon's version, you went to his Web site, NextBigStar.com, picked up an application, then submitted it with your video in Super8, film or VHS format -- because those were the leading technologies of the time. You'd submit your video by mail, and his team would digitize it so it could be downloaded and viewed from the Web site. Every week there were 60 new contestants; and each week viewers would narrow the field by voting on the Internet. Millions of votes were cast, and the finals would be on traditional TV after being taped at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.

Mr. McMahon was proud that he helped launch stars such as Ray Romano, Brittany Spears and Sinbad through his "Star Search" TV show, and felt that his NextBigStar.com would help more careers. He thought he was insulated from the woes of the industry as the dot.com bubble burst because he hadn't done any of the high-stakes gambling with investor money like many of the fledgling dot.com entrepreneurs.

Unfortunately, though, while he had the vision, he was too early. To succeed, NextBigStar.com really needed broadband Internet connections to be in all our homes, and for the talent to be able to send in their videos in digital format. Both scenarios would happen but not until several years later. Nowadays his coveted domain has been taken by a squatter who is capitalizing on latent demand created by Mr. McMahon and his company.

Keep in mind that Mr. McMahon is not a one-hit wonder. Late night TV had not yet struck its stride when he joined Johnny Carson, creating the mold for the format. He also helped create the Ed McMahon Mass Communications Center at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., a school which has since grown significantly in stature.

For me, it's fun to listen to the recording of Ed McMahon mimic his old Johnny Carson introduction, which he turned into "Heeeeere's David" as a fun element for my talk-radio show. I resurrected a couple of my interviews with my friend at my Web site, www.MegabyteMinute.com.

In his words, "It's all about hopes and dreams."